What’s hot is trolling on Lake Chelan for Mackinaw. The bite has been good on the Bar, over by the Monument and up at the Yacht Club. The area around the Yacht Club has produced the bigger fish, while the Monument has produced the most.
For the Yacht Club area, T4 purple glow Flatfish from Worden’s Lures worked best when trolled at 1.5 mph within 10 feet of the bottom. Around the monument and over the Bar, little F7 Flatfish in Luminous Chartreuse worked best. Silver Horde’s Ace Flies worked too.
Rig those “Aces” with Mack’s Lures Smile Blade in glow colors. Slide the blade up the line then add a couple of 4 mm beads to act as bearing to allow the blade to spin smoothly. You can alter the rate of spin and the wobble by adjusting the bend in the blade. Then slide one of those Ace Hi’s up the line and add a glow Worden’s Corky to space the Ace Hi fly above the hooks. We like to tie a tandem hook setup with 2/0 red Octopus hooks. Space those hooks about 2 inches apart. Bait that lead hook with a small triangle of Northern Pikeminnow to complete your ensemble and to give those fish something to chew on.
Steelheaders are reporting more triploids than Steelhead are pulling bobbers down below Chief Joe dam.
Your fishing tip of the week is to test your knots really well before getting them wet. It can be very disappointing to go to all the trouble to get a nice fish on the line only to have a knot come undone. Remember to wet the line before pulling it tight. Then pull on it hard before fishing it.
Your kid’s tip of the week is to watch what you do as well as what you say. While delivering lectures may feel like you are teaching your kid, it’ their imitation of your behavior that has the lasting effect and shapes how they behave. How do you respond on the water to someone cutting you off? How do you behave when they lose that big fish? What do you do when you see someone having trouble out there. What do you do with your trash? Your behavior helps form their behavior and their outlook on the world.
Your safety tip of the week is to get ready for winter. Looking at the weather report and the calendar, it’s time to freeze protect your gear. Drain the manifolds, or blow out the outboards. If you are going to Rufus, a shovel and some sand for ice on the ramp will be a good idea. Do the “duck waddle” on those frosty Lake Chelan docks. It’s that time of the year.
Anton Jones of Darrell & Dad's Family Guide Service
www.darrellanddads.com or 1-866-360-1523
10/27/11 - Ralph and Linda Sorenson of Entiat with their catch of Lake Chelan Mackinaw
10/24/11 - Jerry McKellar of Colville on a beautiful fall morning with his catch of Lakers.
